Boston University will divest from fossil fuels, effective immediately, university President Robert A. Brown announced on Thursday.
In a letter addressed to members of the university community, Mr. Brown wrote that Boston University's board of trustees voted Wednesday to adopt a plan to phase out any investments in companies that extract oil and natural gas. Going forward, the university's $3 billion endowment will not have any direct investments in fossil-fuel companies.
Although the exact amount BU has invested in fossil fuels was not disclosed, Mr. Brown wrote in the letter “that the very small fraction of our endowment that is invested in fossil fuel producers and extractors makes the board’s commitment economically inconsequential,” before adding: “It becomes significant when added to the growing number of organizations, investment firms, pension plans, and individuals who are making the same commitment.”
In 2016, the university's board of trustees approved a strategy to avoid investing in companies that extract coal and tar sands oil.
